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Academic Initiatives

Binghamton University faculty, staff and students contribute to the local community
through a variety of coursework-related programs (internships, fieldwork, practica,
service-learning) and other ventures. The University offers a wide range of professional
and continuing education opportunities for community members; hosts academic conferences
on various topics; and provides faculty and staff expertise to the community through
workshops, lectures and other academic outreach efforts. Here are some examples:

Course-related efforts

Our undergraduate bioengineering program requires all students to successfully complete a capstone design project that solves
a real-world problem, with particular emphasis on service-related projects. At the
end of the academic year, students present their projects to the community.

Chair and Associate Professor of Public Administration David Campbell established
a Philanthropy Incubator in 2008 to cultivate habits of philanthropy among Binghamton University students.
The program provides students with grant money to distribute to local nonprofit organizations
as part of coursework, through which they learn about philanthropy and the essential
role nonprofit organizations play in building vibrant communities. The grantmaking
experience contributes to undergraduate students' preparation for engaged citizenship
and to graduate students' preparation as public service professionals.

Associate Professor of Computer Science William Ziegler's undergraduate students are
regular participants in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Design Competition for Universities and have won four first place awards, one second place award and one honorable mention
since 2009. His students have presented their award-winning designs in Chicago, Philadelphia,
Boulder, Minneapolis, Denver, Oshkosh, and Arlington. One of the designs is currently
under construction at the Greater Binghamton Airport as the result of a $1.4 million
grant from the FAA.

Continuing education

Binghamton's Watson School recently established an Executive Master of Science in Health Systems in Manhattan program. The one-year program is taught at the SUNY Global Center in New York City and offers
students the option of earning a master's degree in systems science with a health
systems concentration or a master's degree in industrial and systems engineering with
a health systems concentration.

School of Management faculty regularly work with corporations in the region to provide customized academic
programming for employees seeking a master’s degree in business administration.

Other ventures

In June 2014, Binghamton University's Virtual AP Evaluation Research Team sponsored and led a two-day forum for secondary education professionals from across New York to discuss the feasibility
of offering virtual advanced placement courses to underserved students. The team is
directed by Graduate School of Education Professor Beth Burch and Assistant Professor
Nicole Fenty.

As part of a Community of Peace initiative implemented in the University's Apartment
Communities residential community, five Binghamton students and Bioengineering Professor
George Catalano (who is faculty master in the Apartment Communities) spent a week in spring 2014 at Pine Ridge, an Oglala Lakota Native American reservation in South Dakota. During their trip
they performed a variety of service projects and learned about life on the reservation.

Through the University's Ask a Scientist program, Binghamton faculty respond to science and technology questions posed by students
from local schools, sharing their knowledge with the community. In addition, faculty provide expertise to the local community through workshops, seminars and other technical presentations, as well as by responding
to media requests for expert commentary.

Faculty and staff from Binghamton's Department of Chemistry coordinate the local and
regional Science Olympiad and Chemistry Olympiad competitions for high school students.